The Byzantine Empire

Rating:
Summary: A great overview of Byzantine civilization.
Review: The reader interested in a basic history of the Byzantine Empire and its literary and artistic legacy will find this book appealing. Unlike other authors, Professor Browning does not hold the conventional view that the Byzantine Empire as we know it began with the establishment of the capital city of Constantinople in A.D. 330. Rather, he takes into account the evolution of Roman civilization in the East from its initially pagan Latinized form to its final definition as a Hellenic Christian state around A.D. 500. Throughout the book, the author describes in excellent manner the development of Byzantine art and letters vis-a-vis the political, economic, and social changes affecting the state during its nearly 1000 years of existence. Maps illustrating the geographical growth and decline of the Empire are included, along with a chronological table and a list of emperors. A good bibliography refers the reader to more detailed works on topics such as the structure of the Byzantine government and military, the Greek Church, and the social customs of the day. The maps may be a little hard to follow at first as different time periods are overlapped in each of them. Also, the full-color plates which graced the book's first edition by Scribner's are missing from this revised CUA Press edition. Maps and plates aside, "The Byzantine Empire" provides an effective, readable primer on the Byzantine world